Lewis Preston ("Pat") Collins was born in Lynchburg, Virginia,
in 1896. After attending Washington and Lee University and serving in World War I, he
obtained a law degree from Yale University and began practicing law in the town of
Marion, located in southwest Virginia. His law practice papers demonstrate his influence
as a lawyer and Democratic politician in a small Virginia town during the 1930s.
Although he often represented "outside" interests such as the State Highway Department,
the Norfolk and Western Railway, and the Appalachian Electric Power Company, he also
managed to look out for the interests of the community. Collins represented his district
in the Virginia General Assembly from 1936 until 1946, and served as Lieutenant Governor
under Governors William M. Tucka and John S. Battle.

Preferred Citation

Lewis Preston ("Pat") Collins was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, in 1896. He was educated
in the public schools of Marion, Virginia and attended Washington and Lee University
until he was called to serve in World War I. In 1919 he began the study of law at Yale
University and was awarded the LL.B. in 1922, the same year that he received his B.A.
from Washington and Lee. Collins was admitted to the Virginia Bar in July of 1922 and
immediately set up his law practice in the town of Marion. As his practice grew, he also
became active in local civic organizations and politics, eventually becoming district
chairman of the Democratic Party.

Marion, the Smyth County seat, is located in southwest Virginia about forty miles
northeast of Bristol and a hundred miles southwest of Roanoke. Collins carried on a
civil practice which primarily served people in Smyth and the adjacent counties of
Washington and Wythe. Early in his career he represented individuals in family, probate
and real estate matters and served as "committee" for veterans with mental or emotional
problems in order that they could receive their Veterans' Administration benefits. In
1933 when the Federal Home Owners' Loan Act established the Home Owners' Loan
Corporation, Collins served as local counsel and handled closings for the Corporation. A
year later he was appointed Commissioner of Accounts of the Circuit Court of Smyth
County and became responsible for the settlement of accounts when wills were probated in
that court. Toward the end of the 1930's Collins began to make investigations, settle
claims and handle lawsuits for the Virginia Auto Mutual, Pennsylvania, and State Farm
insurance companies. When the State Highway Department began planning to build Route 11
through his area of the state, he represented the department in disputes over the value
of land and handled the settlements of payment for land claimed for the highway. Soon
thereafter he began to handle similar cases for the Norfolk and Western Railway, which
was running a track parallel to the new highway. Collins' other corporate clients
included the Kroger Grocery and Baking Company, the town of Saltville, the Appalachian
Electric Power Company, the Saltville plant of the Mathieson Alkali Works, and the
Marion National Bank. He also represented one of the defendants in an antitrust case
brought by an independent theatre owner against several competitors and a number of the
major film companies.

While Collins represented several "outside" interests in his practice, he also managed
to look out for the interests of the community and used his many contacts when asked to
do so. His law practice papers demonstrate the influence of a lawyer/Democratic
politician in a small Virginia town during the 1930's. Collins was the delegate from his
district to the Virginia General Assembly from 1936 until 1946 when he was elected
Lieutenant Governor. After serving a term under Governor William M. Tuck, Collins ran
and won again, this time to serve with Governor John S. Battle. However, Collins'
promising political career was cut short by his untimely death at the age of 56.

For reasons that have not been discerned, these law office files were maintained in
three sets, and so they are now arranged in three series although none is very long. The
entire collection fills 21 boxes (9.1 linear feet) and spans 1924 to 1952, with most of
the papers concentrated in the years 1933 to 1942.

Series I in Boxes 1 - 12 contains case files for the State Highway Department, Norfolk
and Western Railway, Virginia Auto Mutual Insurance, Appalachian Electric Power, and
other corporations Collins represented including the theatre owner (Byers Theatre v.
Murphy). This series also has his Commissioner of Accounts reports and files for
individual private clients. These records covering 1933-42 were in folders numbered 1 to
217, although some of that number are missing; the numerical order has been
retained.

Series II in Boxes 12 - 16 covers the same time period and were numbered (1 - 372 with
many gaps) in the law office. This numerical arrangement is also roughly chronological.
Many of these files contain one or two pieces of correspondence about relatively simple
matters, although the contents of some of them relate to cases in the other series.
Because Collins' various groupings for his files have been preserved, researchers will
benefit from a careful reading of the box list when trying to follow a particular
case.

Finally, Series III in Boxes 16 - 21 contains files that were in no particular order, so
they have been arranged alphabetically. The types of cases here are similar to those in
Series I, but the predominant years are the mid-1920's and the later 1940's.

The Papers of Lewis Preston Collins were transferred to the Law Library from the
Manuscripts Department of Alderman Library in 1985. These papers from Collins' law
practice were donated to the University along with his personal and political papers,
which have remained at Alderman in accordance with the wishes of the donor, Lewis
Preston Collins III. The finding aid for the Collins Papers at Alderman is available
in the Law Library upon request.